Emily Bear

Emily Bear emerged as a musical prodigy whose work as pianist and composer spans classical, jazz, and new age styles. She entered the world in Rockford, Illinois, in 2001 and displayed an early gift for music, enrolling at age four for piano studies at the Music Institute of Chicago. Recognition for her performances followed in the form of the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award and the Rockford Area Music Industry Award. Multiple guest spots on The Ellen DeGeneres Show further showcased her talents. Live engagements in 2011 took her to the Hollywood Bowl, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and the Festival Castell in Peralada, Spain, the last of these featuring a collaboration with bassist Esperanza Spalding. Her sixth album, Diversity—produced by Quincy Jones—came out on Concord Records in 2013. Three years later the jazz-trio EP Into the Blue arrived.